With turkeys, squirrels, skunks and even deer, it seems whenever you take a walk around Fairfield’s campus, you’ll have the opportunity to come into direct contact with some of nature’s creatures. It’s all fun and games until someone gets chased by a turkey.
Many students have their own stories about turkeys blocking the paths to class or finding themselves too close to a skunk roaming the quad at night.
However, some students have a legitimate fear of the wildlife, especially the turkeys.
“I haven’t had a bad experience with them; I’m just really scared of large birds,” said Taylor Murphy ’08. “Whenever I see them I have to walk a different way to class.”
Peter Kruger ’08, witnessed a grounds crew worker feeding the turkeys recently.
“One guy fed them and then tried to leave, and they kept chasing him. Maybe they always hang around the students because they are hoping to get fed,” he said.
In schools across the country, feeding the campus wildlife has caused the animals to become desensitized to the human activity. In some cases, these creatures have even become friendly enough to approach students.
On his website (www.gottshall.com), researcher John Gottshall has even linked the frequency of interaction between squirrels and humans to the quality of campus life.
“The quality of an institution of higher learning can often be determined by the size, health and behavior of the squirrel population on campus,” Gottshall said in an article in the Penn State Digital Collegian. “I think squirrels tend to be more friendly at schools that are more interesting and have students hanging around campus more,”
At Fairfield, in addition to the turkeys, there are deer, cats, ducks, monk parrots, skunks, and geese, as well as coy fish in Bellarmine pond, according to Public Safety Director Todd Pelazza.
“The geese are an issue as they sometimes impede traffic and, in fact, over the years some have been hit by cars,” he said. “The turkeys are somewhat newer on campus … now there are many of them and they have become somewhat desensitized to people”.
There has never been a problem with animals attacking students, or with rabid animals on campus, Pelazza said. However some students simply do not appreciate the wildlife.
“When I first came here I thought the turkeys were straight out of Jurassic Park. We don’t have things like that in my town,” said Lauren Caggiano ’07.
There is also a potential problem with students harassing the animals. Gonzaga resident Lauren Wood ’08 said she has witnessed a student throwing and hitting a skunk in the quad with a football. The skunk sprayed the dorm but did not hit any students.
“It was so gross,” said Wood. “My room is right above the door, and it smelled so much. People should just leave the animals alone.”
Other students tell stories of attempting to make peace with the animals, especially the turkeys.
“I tried to herd the turkeys into Gonzaga one day,” said Patrick Scanlan ’08. “They wouldn’t come inside though.”
“I like them,” said said Kyle Bono ’08. “I tried chasing one before, but he chased me right back. I’ve also tried to feed them gum and pet them, but they didn’t seem too interested.”
Besides their normal antics, the turkeys have also gotten into bigger trouble on campus.
“There was an incident several years ago where a turkey flew through a large plate glass window in the BCC main dining hall,” said Pelazza. “No one was injured except the turkey who died on impact.”
Despite the occasional problem, however, the wildlife on campus may be a welcome asset to Fairfield, said Martha Milcarek, assistant vice president of Public Relations.
“I have received compliments from campus visitors about the presence of wildlife on campus. Personally, I think they are a nice addition. Their antics make them wonderful conversation topics,” she said.
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